


Five Things Vex Saw in the Whitestone Treasury (And One Thing She Did)

by pagerunner



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, episode 86
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 22:54:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9850328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pagerunner/pseuds/pagerunner
Summary: Vex goes on Percy's promised tour of the Whitestone treasury, and discovers all sorts of fascinating things in the process. Set during the course of episode 86.Note on the rating: the first five parts of this would be rated T on their own. The M rating only applies to the epilogue, since, let's be honest, we can all guess what (or whom) she did.





	

_1: the family jewels_

The first thing Vex saw after Percy unlocked the treasury was the display cases.

Really, there was so much to take in: the heights of the vaulted ceiling, the maze of shelves and chests and safes, the lamps that dotted the windowless stone walls and which came to life, either by a mechanical trick or a long-ago enchantment, once the door was secured again behind them. But not so far away were three glass cases standing upon whorled brass legs, and they inevitably drew the eye. One of them was mysteriously empty, but two of them held glittering jewelry upon red velvet pillows. Vex’s eyes went wide. Percy, watching her reaction, smiled.

“I thought you might appreciate those,” he said.

Vex stepped closer. “Oh, yes.” She gazed at them a while, then gave Percy her own crooked smile over one shoulder. “So this was your plan, then? You wanted to show me the rest of the family jewels?”

Percy chuckled. Still holding the wine bottle in one hand, he walked up to stand beside her. “In part. The earrings, there…those were my grandmother’s. And this necklace passed down through multiple generations. My mother used to wear it on special occasions.”

Vex made a silent _ooh,_ leaning closer to inspect it. The necklace was ornate and heavy, a true statement piece. She preferred gold settings to its silver, personally, but the sapphires caught the light so prettily. “The stones are just lovely,” she said.

“They are.” Percy paused. “By rights this should go to Cassandra, but she placed the necklace back here after…recovering it…from Delilah’s effects. I believe she’s lost her taste for it.”

Vex drew back, horror lacing her words. “Delilah even took your mother’s jewelry?”

“There’s very little the Briarwoods didn’t take.” Percy grimaced, but shook his head as if to cast off the thought. “In any case, I’ve been thinking of resetting it. Jewelry isn’t necessarily my specialty, but I’ve gotten some decent practice of late. And it might be nice to make something new of this for her.”

“Oh, that’s an excellent idea. You did such a good job with Vax’s raven clasp.”

Percy brushed her compliment away with one hand, but he still looked pleased. “It’s hardly high fashion. But I’m glad he’s made use of it.”

“Absolutely. I think you have a knack for this.”

Percy looked over the necklace again. “I just haven’t settled on a design yet,” he admitted. “The raven skull was obvious for him. This one requires a bit more…finesse. I think Cassandra might like something more delicate, but I haven’t quite tied everything together.”

“Well, think it over, make some sketches. And if you want suggestions on what might suit your sister, I’m sure I could advise.”

He looked genuinely surprised. “You’d do that?”

“Oh, of course! I have a good eye for these things.” Vex winked at him. “And you know I’ve proven inspirational with your tinkering before.”

“That’s true. Although now I’m trying not to turn that into a horrible metaphor.”

Vex leaned close, enjoying the way he could still blush at these things. “So am I,” she said, teasing. “Maybe you should show me more of your treasures before we both get…distracted.”

A sudden, mischievous look crossed Percy’s face. “Yes, let’s. I think I have just the thing.”

—

_2: historic art_

Vex supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised to discover that the Whitestone treasury contained more than simply gold and jewels. A family with the history of Percy’s would have collected many valuable things over time, and of all the possibilities, art made perfect sense.

She had no clue what to say, however, about what Percy had just led her to.

“One of my great-grandfathers,” he explained, while carefully sorting through a stack of heavy frames propped against one wall, “had the admirable goal of supporting the arts, and he, too, fancied himself a painter.” Percy turned his head to study something, then scooted aside two inoffensive landscapes to select something from behind. “Unfortunately that leaves us with the questionable legacy of pieces such as…this.”

With a small grunt of effort, he hefted out the frame, turned to Vex, and set it down facing her. Her eyes widened again when she beheld the canvas.

“Er,” she said. “That’s certainly a…horse?”

“A dog,” Percy said, sounding suspiciously cheerful. “We think. The family used to raise hounds, so that’s at least logical.” He glanced down over the top edge. “It doesn’t entirely account for the proportions, however.”

“Or the coloring,” Vex said, faintly amazed. “Was he aiming for russet?”

“Something like. It does look a bit like an overripe apple.”

“The shape does, too.” Her own head tilted. “And there’s a certain…melted-candle quality to the face.”

“I suspect that was one of his mediums, yes.”

Vex tried to hold back a laugh. Percy didn’t. At last she gave in, too, shaking her head in disbelief. “Good gods, Percy. Why did your family _keep_ this monstrosity?”

“A sense of obligation, I expect. And someone’s idea of historical interest. And perhaps the opportunity for target practice.”

“I did notice the hole.”

“I think Oliver threw a dart at it.”

Vex badly suppressed another laugh. “It improves the composition, honestly.”

Percy grinned. Vex looked up at that, finding her attention for the painting fading away. After everything that had happened over the last few weeks, seeing Percy smiling like that was just _marvelous,_ and she couldn’t help herself. She took two paces forward, went up on tiptoes, and leaned over the frame to plant a soft kiss on his lips. He looked pleasantly dazed when she withdrew, but the smile hadn’t left, either.

“For what it’s worth, Percy,” she told him, “I’m glad you didn’t inherit your artistic talents from _this_ branch of your ancestry.”

“As am I. I’m not sure my latest drawings would be appropriate to add to the family archives, however.”

Knowing exactly which drawings he meant, Vex smirked. “What? You want to deprive future generations of my beauty?”

“Oh, never that. But I think I want to keep you to myself a _little_ while longer.”

Vex smiled even wider. Then she set the dreadful painting aside and plucked up the wine bottle from where Percy had left it on the floor. She considered it speculatively. “I don’t suppose your family kept any decent crystal around to go with the terrible, terrible art?”

“Actually, yes.” Percy turned her around, pointing at a door on the far side of the room. “Although you might be surprised at what kind.”

“Show me,” she said. After casually hooking an arm around her waist, he did.

—

_3: strategic reserves_

Vex felt what was in the next room before she truly saw it.

Percy’s keyring contained a couple smaller keys, one of them oddly shaped and veined with narrow bands of white and green. She had her own theories of what that meant, all of which were confirmed when Percy opened the door and ushered her inside. The small chamber, lit with only one lamp, was lined with shelves on either side. Most of them bore neatly stacked bricks of something she instantly recognized.

“Residuum,” she breathed, turning in place in the center of the room. “Is it _all—_ “

“Our reserves,” Percy confirmed. “We’ve always kept a certain amount for our own use, or in case of emergencies. One of the first things Cassandra did after reclaiming the palace, even before working on re-establishing proper trade, was restocking this cache.”

Vex shivered, not even sure why. “Is any of it enchanted, then, or is it just the distilled material?”

“Mostly the latter.”

Vex nodded. “There’s just…something about it,” she mused, still looking around. “This much of it, I mean. It sort of…”

“All that potential,” Percy said. “Gets under your skin.”

Silently agreeing, she traced a finger along one shelf. Strange thoughts kept striking her, and she glanced back at Percy. He wasn’t wearing his coat just now, although he’d kept the cloak with him, folded neatly over one bent arm. But she couldn’t help but remember that little residuum shard he’d kept in his coat pocket for so long. The same one she’d used while trying to call him back.

Percy, watching her get caught on the edge of a word, pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He looked like he was remembering something, too. “We don’t have to stay long,” he said softly.

“No, it’s all right. Just…thinking.” She stepped back, but only slightly. Reaching for something else to say, she turned to the rightmost shelf, which contained not only the raw material but a number of artifacts. “So what are those?”

“ _Those_ are enchanted. Here, look.” He reached past her to pull a small, rounded tumbler from the shelf, angling it so that the light struck it at an advantageous angle. Vex saw subtle threads of green within the glass. “These were commissioned for my family at a rather…paranoid time. They’re enchanted against poison.”

“Really?” Vex, intrigued, took the glass from his fingers. “Like that teaset of mine, but in reverse…”

“They’re also said to purify water, and for that matter, to self-clean.” He took down another glass. “And the crafter claimed they could even improve the taste of wine, although that was probably just salesmanship.”

“Well. I say we put that to the test.”

Percy temporarily traded that second glass for the bottle she’d been holding and popped its cork. Vex breathed in the rich scent as he poured generous servings, and she hummed happily over both glasses.

“Well, that seems like it has an excellent…what was that word our babe in the woods used? Terroir?”

Percy set the bottle aside and took his glass back. “Tary may be naïve about many things, but he’s right about wine.” He clinked his glass gently against Vex’s. “Still, I think we’ve got a few generations’ worth of expertise on him here.”

“Ah. Getting competitive again, are we.”

Percy hid a smile behind his glass as he took a sip. Vex took a much more enthusiastic drink. She admittedly didn’t have the palate either of them did, but it was still delicious—and so was the warm little flush it gave her, like red wines so often did. Vex hummed again, much lower. Percy’s gaze went intent.

“So is my selection to your liking, Lady Vex’ahlia?”

She shivered again, but in a much more pleasant way this time. “Many things here are to my liking,” she answered. She let her voice go sultry when she did, and watched color rise again across his cheeks. If she pointed it out, she imagined he’d blame the wine. She knew better.

Percy, by way of reply, refilled her glass.

“I think we should finish this,” he said when he was done, “and then I have one more thing to show you before the main event.”

“Mmh. That sounds promising.”

“I certainly hope so.”

Vex took another hearty drink, finding that on reflection, that low hum of potential that permeated this strange little room was much less unsettling than exciting after all.

—

_4: family documents_

Vex almost got diverted on the way to their next stop, seeing as massive lockboxes stood along the entire corridor, containing who knew what sort of wealth within. It was difficult not to wonder what hid inside, and harder still not to ask. Still, when Percy led her to a particular cabinet and began revealing its contents, her focus returned.

Before her, the history of Whitestone and its most notable families was unfolding.

“The de Rolos have always kept meticulous documentation,” Percy told her. From the looks of things, that was true. She glimpsed a map of Whitestone so old it was carefully preserved between panes of glass, then an aged religious book from a long-dead priest. “Nobles do tend to fuss about that sort of thing, of course. One’s genealogy matters deeply, the rights to one’s claims…”

His voice trailed off, as if distracted by something. He wasn’t any less tipsy than she was, of course, but Vex sensed that his thoughts were spinning away for different reasons. She watched closely as he drew out another book and turned its pages forward until he could point out something: the elaborate curlicues that both formed and nearly obscured a familiar name.

“And there’s proof of mine, I suppose,” he said. “The record of my birth.”

Vex felt a strange little twinge. Beside Percy's name was a date, one that let her calculate the age he so rarely admitted to. The bare fact of it felt oddly like a confession. And the entire notion of this book—of being entered so formally into such an extensive family line—was a whole world away from how she’d begun her own life.

“I don’t even know if there’s record of me,” she said softly. Percy turned to look at her. “Vax and I…Father would never have made such a claim to us. And whatever our mother kept…”

It was her turn to trail off. Percy filled it in, understanding. “Byroden.”

“All up in flames.”

“I’m sorry,” he said after a moment. “I didn’t mean to…”

“I know.” She touched the edge of the initial P, then withdrew. The name wasn’t alone on the page, after all. It was surrounded by others, those of all of his siblings. Julius was notated in even grander script at top, Cassandra barely fitting at the bottom of the page. Vex nestled against Percy’s side, taking it all in. No matter how intimidating this record was from a certain perspective, it felt important to see it, too.

“I’m glad these are still here,” she said. “That the Briarwoods never got to it. That no matter what else happened, the history lives.”

“Some things last beyond death in ways even the Briarwoods never understood,” he murmured. He studied the book for a while before gently closing it. A faint smile touched his lips. “Besides, I’m not the only person of interest recorded in here.”

Before she could ask, he opened another drawer. Vex looked down when he gestured at the documents within, and she found herself staring at a familiar patent indeed.

“Oh,” she said softly, reading her own name in his hand. “Of course.”

He let her have a minute before he spoke again. “There will _always_ be record of you now, Vex,” he said at last. “And you earned it with your deeds, not because of some accident of birth. You made your own mark on the world. Never forget that.”

She felt sure she was the one blushing this time. “Well. I didn’t get there without help.” She glanced slantwise toward the drawer. “And not without a well-placed restoration spell, for that matter, because if you really _had_ gotten it all wrong about why you gave me that title…”

Percy made a face, remembering. “Scanlan could be a shit at times, couldn’t he?”

“He could,” she agreed vehemently. Sadness, however, soon followed. She made herself take a deep breath and collect herself. “But even he did his part. And so did you. No matter what your circumstances of birth.”

“Well. There’s proof enough of what we all accomplished in the next room, really.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our final stop on the grand treasury tour.” Percy lifted the keyring again, selecting the last key he hadn’t yet used. “Where do you think we’ve been dropping off our earnings, after all?”

Vex brightened all at once. “Oh, Percy. Show me.”

“I can do better than that.” He pointed toward the door on the east wall, then extended his hand, offering her the keys. “After you.”

Vex took the ring. The weight of it was surprising, but she also felt the buzz of possibility again. In the end, it didn’t take her long before she grinned and turned to make her way to the door. And when her footsteps quickened almost into a run, she heard the unfettered echo of Percy’s laugh as he hurried to catch up.

—

_5: Vox Machina’s vault_

“Mother _fuck._ ”

The declaration, short and emphatic, summed up everything that Vex was struggling to fit into her vision. Gems and jewelry, armor and weaponry, knickknacks and artifacts and curiosities of every kind…and gold, of course, veritable piles of it, more than she’d ever properly imagined. The small, round room was practically filled with it. Percy caught up just in time to hear her swear in appreciation, and he stood beside her at the threshold with a smile curving his lips.

“Here I thought you’d be the _least_ surprised at the size of our hoard,” he said. “You who keeps the records.”

“Records are one thing. But seeing it all in one place…”

“It’s a little different than hiding it away in the bag, that much is true.”

“A little different, he calls it,” she echoed under her breath, still staring at the gleaming pile. “A _little._ ”

Percy pondered the contents of the vault, too. After a while he produced a coin from somewhere and tossed it into the center. The pile shifted, making a cascade of gems spill down toward the doorway and land at Vex’s feet. She bent to pick one up. The little emerald glittered in the lamplight.

“Maybe we can contribute a gem or two to Cassandra’s new necklace,” she said, lifting one eyebrow. “Since all of this is already here.”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate it.”

“And I wouldn’t mind keeping a few for myself, of course. I’d look good in green.”

“That you would.” He leaned closer. “But truthfully…”

His tone had changed all at once. Vex quirked a look at him.

“As lovely as it would be to see you in jewels,” Percy went on, “I wouldn’t mind seeing you in even less than that.”

Suddenly uncaring about the emerald, Vex dropped it back into the pile.

“Why, Percy.” She affected a scandalized tone. “Such a suggestion. When _did_ you get so bold?”

He pretended to think about it. “Oh, perhaps after a certain baroness showed up naked at her door when I came calling.”

“And come you most certainly did.”

The corners of his lips twitched up again. “As did you. More than once, as I recall.”

“Yes, well. It was an excellent performance on your part, I’ll grant you that. Clearly you were thoroughly inspired.”

“And if I know you at all, I’d think that this”—he swept one hand out, indicating the room—“might prove inspiring in its own way?”

Vex, still warm from the wine, the laughter, and Percy’s moments of tenderness earlier, knew that when it came right down to it, she’d just as happily have stepped into his arms in a room bare of any gold at all. But he did have a point. The gleaming extravagance surrounding them—and the fact that it was _their_ wealth, not just Whitestone’s—didn’t hurt one bit.

Vex smiled invitingly and tugged him further into the vault.

“I say it’s time we see just how inspiring it might be,” she told him.

Percy eagerly followed her inside, and let the door close solidly behind them.

—

_+1: depositing the check_

It took some doing to make things comfortable, and more than a bit of rearranging their hoard, but Vex found some furs amongst the assorted armor and garments, and Percy replied by snapping his cloak out over them like a fluttering silk sheet. Vex actually giggled when he did it, impressed at the audacity.

“You want to fuck me atop a Vestige?” she asked, wanting to be entirely plain about it. “An exalted relic? Really?”

The tiniest smirk crossed Percy’ s face. Vex, who’d already cast off her clothes, answered it with one of her own. “Hedonist,” she breathed with approval, and tugged him down with her onto the cloak.

She was, to be honest, still marveling at discovering this side of him. His urge to please her was perhaps little surprise; his inventiveness was also hardly a secret. But for someone who’d kept his feelings long unspoken and his own needs so rarely indulged, his enthusiasm and drive now were remarkable. His passion for this, and for her. His…vigor. Yes, that was a good word.

It was a very, very good word, and an even better thing to feel.

Every time they moved—and Percy was hard at work already between her legs, making her moan and writhe against the cloak with every stroke of his tongue—the coins around them shifted. Vex listened to it all, the clinking of the gold and the wet sounds down below, the occasional gasp muffled against her skin. She reached out one hand when he paused to breathe, letting her fingers trail across the shimmering stacks of coins and knock a few more of them free. When she reached to grasp for more of them, though, Percy crooked two fingers and slid them deep inside her, and that was the end of that. After a few good strokes, all she could do was clutch her fingers into his hair and hold him against her, crying out as he worked her close enough to the edge that the anticipation almost hurt.

At least she didn’t have to restrain a single bit of sound in here. She could be as loud as she wanted within these walls, and no one would hear but him. It was _delicious._

“ _Fuck,”_ she gasped after a moment, because, well, few other words suited the situation quite so literally. “Percy, gods…want you _in_ me, before…”

Despite her grip, Percy managed to lift his head. “Before what, darling?”

She swore again, then laughed suddenly. If he was going to play it that way, so could she. “I want you,” she said, enunciating it as clearly as possible, “and your dick, and I want you fucking me _properly,_ not that this isn’t lovely”—and she hadn’t meant to put that part in, but Percy’s mouth really was something—“because when I come I want you to feel every bit of it. So get your ass up here.”

She loosened her fingers deliberately, using one hand to beckon him on instead. Percy licked his lips, sending another twinge of heat through her, and obediently crawled up closer, sending another cascade of coins down the slope. Some of them spilled into the hollow they’d created, rolling to a stop at Vex’s side. Percy plucked one free and turned it between his fingers.

“There’s better things you could be fondling besides the gold, you know,” Vex said, shifting again to get his attention. The smooth slide of fabric beneath her made her gasp anew. “Gods, that feels nice…”

“Do you mean me, or the cloak?”

“Both,” Vex admitted, laughing a little at herself. Of course, it wasn’t merely the quality of the fabric she was responding to. The cloak _did_ have magical qualities, after all, and something of that electric power was tingling across her skin whenever she moved. Percy watched her enjoy it, his gaze flicking noticeably between her face and her breasts, and after a moment of apparent internal debate, he bent to kiss those first. Vex threw her head back, moaning under another deft flick of his tongue.

“Percy,” she murmured while he moved. Slowly she grew more insistent. This was good, so good, but she wasn’t going to wait forever for what she’d asked for. “ _Percy_.”

At last he took the hint.

After some negotiation with the shifting sands, and after pulling a few fallen gems free before anyone could hurt themselves, Percy settled at Vex’s side and hooked one of her legs over his hips. She leaned eagerly close, kissing him with fervor. His mouth was warm, the taste of her own body still on his tongue, and she was so consumed by the feeling of it all that when he rolled his hips against her, the contact somehow almost came as a surprise. “Oh, gods,” she moaned, her voice small and strained. “Again.”

Percy thrust a second time, changing his angle, pressing not quite inside her but almost, almost. Vex felt herself part to slide against him, her skin so slick already that she knew the stretch of taking him in would be almost no effort at all. The mere idea made her ache. “Percy,” she said again. “Percy, please.”

“You feel so good,” he breathed. He was trembling, Vex realized, like the undercurrents of power she kept feeling were teasing at him, too—but all of his attention was focused on her. “This feels so good…”

“Then _fuck me,_ ” she said, and all teasing spent, he did.

If the time that followed wasn't absolute proof of the vigor and vitality she’d just been thinking of, Vex had no idea what could possibly suit.

She was sweating and shaking by the time she finally came, her entire body feeling set alight. Percy kept working her through it, his fingers stroking between her folds at first insistently, then almost soothingly, until her last little cry faded and they both slowly came to a stop. It took a long while after her orgasm had ebbed away to realize she’d climbed halfway atop Percy in the midst of it all, and her thighs trembled when she tried to settle back down; she’d been giving as good as she was getting. Percy, though, had to be commended. He’d held out for her until the very last, no matter how ready he’d been for his own release, and he hadn’t flagged even for an instant. Vex gazed at him in unabashed appreciation, watching him scrub his forehead dry with one arm.

From the looks of it—and the sounds of it, some moments ago—he’d enjoyed himself just as completely, and she couldn’t hold back a thrill of pride to have put _that_ look on his face.

“So,” Percy said between deep breaths, returning her exhausted but honest smile. “Was that…sufficiently decadent for you?”

“Oh, maybe just.” She rose to slip free of him, slowly adjusting to the feeling. When she lay back down on his opposite side, she found herself giggling. “But now that we’ve utterly despoiled your cloak, you better not be needing it again any time soon…”

Percy laughed softly. “Well, blood and mud and dragon eggs have brushed right off of it. One can hope the same will apply for…this.”

“That would be convenient. No sleeping on wet spots.”

“I’m sure that wasn’t the original intent, but we can work with it.”

Vex grinned, then yawned, her thoughts starting to sleepily drift. “Do you suppose the others have started to wonder what we’ve been up to all this time?”

He propped himself up to look at her a little better. “Oh, they’ve likely figured it out.”

“Well, I don’t know. If I were them, I’d see no sense in jumping to conclusions. I mean…check depositing…can be so time-consuming. Dealing with all those financial particulars takes work. I should know.”

He chuckled and brushed her hair back. “Where _did_ that check end up, incidentally?”

“It’s by the far wall, I think. Underneath your pants.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t watching where you threw my pants.”

“Well, we’ll find it. Eventually.”

“It’s a time-consuming process,” he agreed. Then he wrapped his arms around her and settled back down, cradling her close like she was the greatest treasure in this chamber or any other. The feeling made her heart skip oddly, going deeper than anything else had the whole night through.

Vex hoped Percy understood it for the promise it was that in that moment, she closed her eyes against all the gold around her, and she held onto him, too, in exactly the same way.


End file.
